Late Russian general honored for helping ROC in war against Japan Taipei, Oct. 27 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Tuesday recognized the contributions of a late Russian general to the Republic of China (ROC) during its War of Resistance against Japan from 1937-1945, and said he is grateful for the general's help for the country.
Ma delivered the words of gratitude during a meeting with visiting Nikolai Chuikov, grandson of Soviet Marshal Vasily Chuikov (1900-82), and his wife, Galina Chuikova, at the Presidential Office.
On the event, Ma presented Nikolai Chuikov with a commemorative medal marking the 70th anniversary of the ROC's victory in the war against Japan to honor his grandfather's contributions, who Ma said was sent to mainland China to serve as a military adviser to then-ROC military leader Chiang Kai-shek from 1940-1942.
Ma said that during the first four years of the Chinese War of Resistance against Japan, the greatest amount of aid the ROC had received was from the Soviets. Since the signing of the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact in 1937, the Soviets had sent 1,200 airplanes and more than 3,600 airborne and ground personnel to the mainland, joining battles there as a voluntary force.
In 1938, the voluntary force launched an air strike targeting a Japanese military base near the Songshan airport in northern Taiwan, successfully destroying aircraft and oil tanks there without harming any civilians, according to Ma.
The Russian force participated in 10 battles in the ROC'S territory during the first four years of the war. It helped destroy many Japanese ships and aircraft but saw the death of more than 200 of its pilots, Ma said.
Moreover, the voluntary force also helped the ROC build an Air Force academy and a training base and establish aviation supply stations. "When the ROC fought the war alone, the Soviet force provided timely aid," Ma said, praising the friendship as valuable.
The Soviets' assistance to the ROC, however, was little known after World War II, in stark contrast with the wide publicity surrounding the Flying Tigers, a group of American fighter pilots that aided China in the air war against Japan, Ma said.
The ROC government was forced to relocate to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war against the Communists on the mainland.
The Chuikov couple was invited by the ROC government to visit Taiwan on Oct. 26-31.
A renowned military leader, Marshal Vasily Chuikov helped turn the tide of the battle in Europe, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) data, which originates from the Public Diplomacy Coordination Council.
Between 1940 and 1942, the general made three trips to the ROC and served as the Soviet Union's chief military liaison to the ROC from January 1941 onward. His main mission in China was to help bolster the nation's overall capabilities to fight the Japanese aggressors.
Unlike his contemporaries posted as military observers from European countries and the United States, Marshal Chuikov believed that China would be able to fend off the Japanese invasion and achieve a final victory, the data shows. (Courtesy of CNA)
（中央社記者謝佳珍台北27日電）總統馬英九今天表示，中華民國紀念對日抗戰勝利暨台灣光復70週年，邀請當年幫助打戰、協助難民的善心人士來台，要向他們表達中華國是愛好和平、重視歷史、懂得感恩的國家。
根據總統府資料，前蘇聯顧問團團長瓦西里崔可夫（Vasily Chuikov）1900年生，一生戰功彪炳，曾3度前往中國大陸，並於1941年1月起擔任中國軍隊軍事總顧問，與中國大陸淵源頗深。崔可夫是二次世界大戰的蘇聯名將，除曾指揮史達林格勒會戰，二戰最末期還曾揮軍攻入柏林。
馬總統上午接見崔可夫之孫尼可萊崔可夫（Nikolai Chuikov）夫婦時表示，抗戰期間，崔可夫曾於1940年至1942年奉派援華，擔任蔣委員長的軍事總顧問。
總統說，今年是中華民國對日抗戰暨台灣光復70週年，當年對日抗戰，在裝備落後、實力不足的劣勢下，苦戰8年，靠軍民誓死決心，獲得最後勝利。
馬總統表示，抗戰中，中華民國付出慘痛代價，官兵傷亡322萬人，共有268位將領殉國，百姓死傷更在2000萬人以上；在將近4萬場的戰役中，國軍輸多贏少，死傷人數遠超過日軍。
談及蘇聯援華，馬總統說，珍珠港事變前4年，當時的中國抗日在苦戰，得到最大的援助，來自當時的蘇聯。在美國飛虎隊來之前，從1937年中華民國與蘇聯簽互不侵犯條約，後來的4年當中，蘇聯曾提供1200架飛機，3600多名空勤與地勤人員以志願軍名義參戰。
總統表示，當時蘇聯志願軍曾在1938年空襲台灣松山機場的日軍基地，摧毀飛機與油庫，但沒有攻擊平民；在這近4年中，蘇聯航空志願隊曾參與10場戰役，擊毀日本飛機與船艦，不過也有200多名蘇聯飛行員不幸陣亡。
馬總統說，蘇聯航空志願隊也幫助中華民國成立航校、訓練基地，建立航空物資供應站等，有助空軍抵抗日軍攻擊；在4年大多時間孤軍奮戰時，蘇聯志願隊雪中送炭，友情彌足珍貴。
不過，總統說，二次大戰後，因國共內戰、韓戰、韓戰後的冷戰，美國飛虎隊事蹟家喻戶曉，但蘇聯援華事蹟鮮為人知。(中央社提供)
